Refrigerator



E. S. GILLETTE May l, 1934.

REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 9, .1.932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PME'.

//VroR Egg/170A@ `das Patented May 41, 1934 PATENT oFFlcE BEFRIGERATOR Edmond S. Gillette, Santa Monica, Calif., as-

signor to Albatross Steel Furniture Companyf Ltd., West Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application January 9, 1932, Serial No. 585,645

Claims. (Cl. (i2-51)V My invention relates to the construction of ice boxes or refrigerators, and relates particularly to refrigerators of the type having an ice compartment for receiving a body of refrigerant, such a body of ice.

It is an object of the invention to provide a simplified and improved form of refrigerator which is made possible by my novel improvement in ice bales or compartments and the method of installing such ice baiiles or compartments in a case.

A feature of myinvention is that it enables the making of the outer refrigerator housing 6r case in the form of a box having an open front with a single door covering such open front and without lateral or vertical parts integrally built into the case for the purpose of forming an ice compartment within the case. Accordingly, it is possible to form both the inner and outer walls of the refrigerator case from sheet metal in a manner of maximum simplicity. The ice baille consists of a separate member which is secured in the completed refrigerator case in a position suspended from the top of the case. p

An object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator of the above character consisting of a complete case having an ice baille therein formed separate from the case and secured within the case in a desired position of utility.

It is an object of the invention to provide a 1 refrigerator having an ice baffle or compartment therein, this ice bame having its individual opening through which the refrigerant may be placed in the ice bale, this opening of the ice bale being equipped with a separate door which may be kept closed at all times except when it is desired to gain acces to the, ice ballie. In the ordinary use of the refrigerator, such as the placing therein and removal therefrom of food, the refrigerant is concealed bythe separate door of the ice ballie.` One advantage of employing a separate door for the ice baille is that it prevents the spilling of the cold air from the interior of the ice baille each time the refrigerator door is opened, thereby producing a condition of economy.

A further object of ythe invention is to provide a refrigerator with an ice compartment having a separate ice compartment door which swings on a horizontal axis from closed position to a horizontal position in which it serves as a shelf in front of the opening of the ice compartment. 'I'he safety feature of this construction is of great importance, for it is estimated that seventy-five percent of the injuries to persons resulting from use of refrigerators or ice boxes are caused by ice dropping from the ice compartment when the ordinary refrigerator door is opened. In this new construction the separate door of the ice compartment provides a shelf for preventing the ice from dropping from the ice compartment when the door thereof is opened. This shelf formed bythe open door is also of value as a rest for articles, for instance, as a support for a pan into which ice is being chipped from the block of ice in the ice compartment.

A further object of the invention is vto provide an ice baille of the above character with a door adapted to swing into horizontal position and having means for preventing articles or things from falling from the sides of the extended door, such means being inthe form of gussets which extend rearwardly and upwardly from the lateral edges of the baille door.

A further object of the invention is to provide a baille with a door of the above character so constructed that ice, water, or other liquid spilled on the extended door will not drop or drain into the refrigerator. This is accomplished by the provisionof gussets at the sides of the door and by constructing the door in such a manner that the inner edge thereof will at all times extend Within the front 'face of the ice baille. Accordingly, when the baie door is raised from extended to closed position, any accumulation of ice chips or any liquid thereon drops into the interior of the bale.

A further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator in which the circulation of cold air is maintained in vertical planes behind the lback of the case or refrigerator door, this con- `dition preventing sweating of the back wall of the refrigerator door.

A' further object of the invention is to provide an ice baille having a simple means for increasing the absorption of heat from the air within the refrigerator, this being accomplished by the use of a plurality of downwardly extending ns which transmit heat absorbed from the air of the refrigerator to the body of ice resting on the ice tray of the baille.v

Further objects and advantages Vof the invention will be made evident throughout the following part of the specication.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a refrigerator embodying my invention, the door of the refrigeral tor being shown in open position.

Fig, 2 is a cross section on a plane represented by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on a plane represented by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 3, showing the baille door in open position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on a plane represented by the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section through the ice bafe, taken on a plane represented by the line 6-6 of Fig. 3. A

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sec tion on a plane represented by the line 7-7 of Fig. 5, showing the gusset construction in detail and the manner in which the gussets serve as stops for. supporting the door in horizontal position.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective View showing the ice tray of the invention removed from the ice baffle.

The term ice baffle is herein used synonymously with ice inclosure, the former expression being used throughout the description by reason of its common employment in the industry when referring to an ice enclosing structure. It may be mentioned at this point that in the claims, the expression ice inclosure is to be understood to mean a structure that encloses the ice chamber from beneath as well as at the sides; in other words, a structure that supports the ice in addition to enclosing it at the sides.

In the preferred practice of my invention I employ a refrigerator case 11, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, having a front opening 12 equipped with a door 13 preferably hinged at the side as shown by use of hinges 14. The interior space 15 of the case 11 is originally made entirely open, that is, none ofthe interior structure, such as the ice baille 16 or the shelves 17, is placed until after the case 11 is completely formed. This method of construction makes it possible to form the top, bottom, side, and rear walls 18, 20, 21, and

'plates 23 and 24 forming the top, bottom', and

side walls of the case 11. I

An especial feature of the invention consists of the ice compartment or ice baille 16 and the manner in which it is suspended from lthe top 18 of the case 11 by use of inwardly extending flanges 30 through which screws are extended, as shown in Fig. 5. The ice baille 16 consists of a side Wall structure 31, a side wall structure 32, a real-wall structure 33, a bottom wall 34 with an opening 35 therein surrounded by an upstanding flange 36, and a door 37 which is adapted to close the front opening 38 of the ice baffle 16 and which is supported so as to swing on a horizontal axis by hinges 40 which are secured to a metal sill 41 extending across the lower portion of the front of the ice baiile 16. The Vertical side wall structure 32 shown in Fig. 6 consists of inner and outer walls or plates 57 and 62 forming anair space 42 therein. 4The bottom wall 34 is flanged upwardly at 44 and 45 so as to form an upwardly projecting flange 46 around the bottom wall structure 34. To form the side wall structure 31 and the rear wall structure 33, a vertical plate 49 is bent at 54 to form side and rear walls 53 and -55 which are set inwardly from the flange 46 so as to leave narrow spaces outside the walls 53 and 55. Leftwardly from the forward edge of the wall 53 a fiange 52 is turned which is finished with a vertical bead 51. Extending from the rightward edge 56 of the plate v55 is the plate 57 which has a laterally bent portion 58 at the front end thereof on which an outwardly extending ange 60 is formed which aligns with the flange 46 of the bottom wall 34. Covering the outer face of the flange 60 is the plate 62 having a lip 63 which extends inwardly over the forward edge of the ange 60, this plate 62 extending rearwardly across the outer face of the portion 48 of the ange 46 and having a flange 64 bent leftwardly at its rearward edge in position to overlap the rightward edge of the portion 47 of the flange 46.

By reason of the ice baille being supported in the manner described, the food compartment C is permitted to extend continuously beneath and upwardly at one side of the baffle, the susnsion support for the latterfobviating the necessity for obstructing the food compartment with supports for the baffle. The upper trays 17 are supported on the sidewall of the case and the side of the ice bailie as indicated at 17a, whereas the lower- 171) on the sides of the case.

It is commonly known that the heat conductivity through the wooden frames of. refrigerator door `openings, is substantially greater than the conductivity through the insulated walls of the easing, and this fact points to the desirability of minimizing the amount of frame construction in order to maintain high cooling efiiciency. In previous types of refrigerators having food/compartments arranged side by side, it has been customary to provide casing doors with wooden. partitions or frames between them. The result has been that, as compared with my improved refrigerator construction, these earlierV types have been substantially lower in cooling efficiency by reason of the requirement, to accommodate multiple doors, for greater length of wooden frame around the door openings, the frame providing, as previously mentioned, a medium of comparatively high conductivity through which heat may pass into the refrigerator to lower its cooling capacity. In accordance with my improved construction, the single door encloses the entire front of the food compartment and ice enclosure, and obviously thelength of wooden frame required for this single door, and the lowering of heat insulating efficiency attributable to the frame, are much less than where the casing is provided with two or more doors leading to the food compartments and ice chamber. I

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the baille door 37 comprises an outer metal wall 65 having an inwardly turned lip 66 around the edge thereof, and an inner metal wall-67 formed with lateral walls 68, l69, and 70 along the outer and side edges thereof, there being a reverse bend or bead 72 formed along wthe inner edge 71 of the wall 67 for the purpose of reinforcing or stiffening the same. As further shown in Fig. 4, the lateral wall 68 formed at the outer edge of the wall 67 is provided with a flange 73 which extends under the lip 66 at the upper and outer edge of the door. lSecured to the /side edges of the door 37 are triangular gussets 74 which extend perpendicularly, rearwardly, or upwardly, in positions to project into the forward portions of the spaces 75 and'76 between the parts 46 and 53 and 48 and 57. there being vertical slots 77l and 78 in the bil lateral walls 52 and 58 formed at the forward edges of the plates 53 and 57, through which the gussets extend into the spaces and 76.

As shown in Fig. 6, the gussets 74 have flanges formed along their outer edge portions 81, which iianges 80 project under' the inwardly turned lip 66 formed along the sides of the outer plate 65 of the door 37. To serve as a stop and means for supporting the door in the horizontal position in which it is shown in Figs. 4 and 7, projections or toes 83 are formed which, when the door is in open postion, project above the upper ends 84 of the slots 77 and 78. In addition to supporting the door 37 in extended position, the gussets 74 provide guard walls at the side of the opening 38 when the door 37 is in open position to prevent ice chips which are being chopped from a block of ice resting within the ice baille 16 from ying sidewardly out onto the floor and for preventing articles which may be rested on th'e door 37 from sliding therefrom in lateral direction.4

A further especial feature is the provision of a doorwhich will prevent spilling of ice chips, water, or other materials therefrom into the interior of the case 11, that is, into the food compartment when the door is raised from extended position to closed position. lThis we accomplish by extendng the wall 67 so that the inner edge 71 thereof projects into the opening 38 so as to overlap the upper edge of the sill 41. Any liquid which drips off the inner edge 7l when the door is in horizontal position will fall within the interior of the ice bame 16, and any materials which slide from the wall 67 when the door is swung from horizontal to raised position `will be discharged from the door 37 into the interior of the ice baie 16 and not into the interior space 15 of the case 11 surrounding the ice baievl.

As shown in Figs. 2 and5, a rectangular circulation opening 85 is formed in the upper portion of the plate 62 of the side wall structure 32, and in the upper portions of the plates 53 and 55 circular openings 86 are formed. The opening 38 in the front of the ice baie 16 is entirely closed when the door 37 is in vertical position. In the iower portion of the ice baflle is a receiving member 87 for a body of refrigerant, such as a block of ice 88. This receiving member or tray 87, as

clearly shown in Fig'. 9, comprises an upper plate 90 having corrugations 91 formed therealong and having straps 92 secured under the ends thereof, these straps 92 being bent so as to provide legs 93 for supporting the plate 90. Extending downwardly from the under face of the plate 90 are a plurality of rectangular metal plates or ns 94 having laterally bent flanges 95 at their upper edges for securing them tothe lower face of the plate 90. These plates 94 are of such size and are so placed that they will project downwardly through `the opening 35 in the bottom 34 of the ice receptacle, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The purpose of these plates is to absorb heat from the air which passes downwardly through the opening 35 and through the spaces between the webs or ns 94.

C'rculation of air within the refrigeratoris as ollows: The air within the ice baille 16, becoming cooled by the body of ice' 88, passes downwardly under the edges of the plate 90 of the tray 87and through the opening 35, as indicated by the arrows 96 in Fig. 5.t This downward movement of airl continues beneath the ice bai'e, as indicated by the arrows 97 in Fig. 1, and is accompanied by a rise of air along the outside of the baiile 16, as indicated by the arrows 9S. From the upper portion of the interior space 15 of the refrigerator, relatively warm air enters the upper portion of the ice baiiie 16 through the rectangular opening 85 and over the upper edge of the plate 57, as indicated by the arrow 100. Owing to the fact that the rectangular opening 35 is set back from the front of the refrigerator, and also in View of the fact that the front of the ice bale 16 is closed bythe door 37, the circulation of air within 'the refrigerator is not brought directly into contact with the inner face of the door 13, and sweating of the inner face of the outside door is thereby avoided.

The ns 94i-may be made of any heat conductive material, copper being especially suitable for this purpose. The fins 94 absorb heat from the air which contacts them and transmits such heat to the body of refrigerant, this heat being transmitted through the plate 90 on which the body of refrigerant rests and to which the upper edges of the ns 94 are secured. I have found that by this type of heat absorber I am enabled to very greatly reduce the temperature within an ice refrigerator of the character shown.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a refrigerator, the combination comprising, an outer case containing a food compartment, an ice enclosure within said case and spaced inwardly from the front thereof, the food compartment extending continuously beneath and upwardly at one side of said enclosure, a vertically swinging and downwardly opening full-door hinged to the front of said enclosure, and a single horizontally swinging door hinged to said case and enclosing the interior of the case at the front of said ice enclosure and the food compartment, said vertically swinging door, when in open position, being adapted to extend horizontally beyond the front of the casing.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination comprising, an outer case consisting exclusively of outer side, top and bottom walls defining a food compartment, a bodily separable ice enclosure within said case, the food compartment extending continuously beneath andupwardly at one side of said enclosure, a vertically swinging and downwardly opening full-door hinged to the front of vsaid. enclosure, means for supportingsaid enclosure exclusively above the food compartment therebeneath, and a single horizontally swinging door hinged to said case and enclosing the interior of the case at the front of said ice enclosure and the food compartment.

3. In a refrigerator, the combination comprising, an outer casing having a horizontally swinging door, an ice enclosure wit-hin said casing and` -having a vertically swinging door normally enclosed by the casing door and hinged at its lower edge to said enclosure and spaced inwardly from the front of the casing, the space at the outside of said enclosure door leading downwardly into a food compartment, means for supporting'the enclosure door in an open horizontal position, and means overlying the hinge joint between the enclosure and its door in open position, to prevent the dropping of ice particles and the like through said space into the food compartment.

4. In a refrigerator, the combination compris- I ing, an outer casing having a horizontally swingingc door, an ice enclosure within said casing and having a vertically swinging door normally enclosed by the casing door and hinged at its lower edge to said enclosure and spaced inwardly from the front of the casing, the space at the outside of said enclosure' door leading downwardly into a food compartment, means for supporting the enclosure door in an open horizontal position, and

a wall on the enclosure door extending over and across the hinge joint of the door, when in open position, into the enclosure, said Wall preventing the dropping of ice particles and the like through said space into the food compartment.

5. In a refrigerator, the combination comprising, an outer case containing a food compartment, an ice enclosure within the case, the food compartment extending continuously beneath and upwardly at one side of said enclosure, a vertically swinging and downwardly opening door hinged to the front of said enclosure and spaced inwardly EDMOND S. GILLE'I'I'E. 

